


Melting Down

by Stimmy_Goblin



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Ableism, Ableist Language, Angst, Autism, Autistic David (Camp Camp), Autistic Max (Camp Camp), Child Abuse, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Maxvid shippers: please choke, Mild Blood, Stimming, dadvid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-26 01:29:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19757809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stimmy_Goblin/pseuds/Stimmy_Goblin
Summary: A short two part story of David's experience with meltdowns during his childhood, and him helping Max with a meltdown later in life.This was mostly a bit of a vent piece, since I came pretty close to having a rough meltdown this morning before I started thinking of these scenarios.(More tags to be added later when I'm not on my dang phone.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please mind the tags, if you're not comfortable with ableist violence, then please take care of yourself and find something else to read. Lots of love ❤

David was 14 when he came to the conclusion that his parents hadn't ever really made an effort to try and understand their son. He was just some unstable brat that threw age-inappropriate tantrums and kicked, screamed, and bit when his father forced him into twisting holds. 

His parents were hosting a New Year's party at their house, halls lit up with harshly blinking colored lights and David was forbidden from hiding away in his bedroom on his mother's orders that he was to be social; like a 'normal' teenager. David cringed every time one of the adults laughed uproariously, or one of their kids went screaming across the back porch with sparklers in their hands. 

The adults at the party kept pulling David into their conversations; the men playfully grabbed his shoulders and shook him around, teasing him about being a scrawny 'beanpole', and the women ran their hands through his strikingly ginger hair, giggling at how much of a 'heartbreaker' he must already be. 

By the time it was 11:30, there was a frantic tightness in David's core, and he could no longer stop his palms from running over the bumpy seams of his jeans pockets, trying desperately to ground himself with the rough texture. David felt completely drained of his insides and like someone was trying to light firecrackers in his stomach all at the same time, and it was exhausting. He glanced at the time again. _15 more minutes, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine…_

David started whispering under his breath, the low tone of his vocal cords relaxing him slightly as he chanted the short phrase. His eyes were intensely focused on the looping patterns in the kitchen rug, and David nearly jumped out of his skin when a large hand clasped the back of his neck. 

His father's eyes bore into David's, and his hand squeezed the base of David's neck as a warning. "Behave yourself, David." He muttered in a low tone. 

David nodded rapidly, forcing his arms straight down and digging his nails harshly into his palms. He only dared breath again when his father had walked to the living room with the gathered guests, who were chattering amongst each other as they waited for the countdown to start. The sound of their overlapping conversations made David head spin, his ears throbbing as though someone decided it would be fun to stuff handfuls of cotton balls into his ear canals, as deep into his head as they could get. 

There was a collective jittering of noise from the adults, and David obediently crept into the living room at his mother's sharp look. As the numbers grew smaller and the voices grew louder, David clasped his hand tightly together and sucked in a breath.

Ten! 

Nine! 

Eight! 

_Seven!_

_Six!_

_Five!_

**_Four!_ **

**_Three_** ** _!_**

**_Two!_**

**_One!_**

There was an explosion of noise as all of the adults started screaming and whooping, one of the drunker guests started beating a metal pot with a pair of tongs, and one of the younger children grabbed a hold of David's wrist and yanked as she jumped up and down screaming at the top of her lungs. The dam inside of David broke, the firecrackers went off, and the blinding pressure in his head sparked until he couldn't see straight. 

David ripped his arm away from the child's grip, his skin lighting up like a livewire and he pressed his hands desperately over his ears, screaming as loud and as long as was humanly possible as he slowly crouched, subconsciously trying to escape the noise. 

The startled girl ran to hide behind her dad's legs as the adult's cheering tapered off, staring unabashedly at David as he crouched as close to the carpet as his knees would let him, his vocal chords straining. 

He felt an unbearable shaking, and itching, and clawing at the inside of his skull, and David viciously slammed his hands against his head, trying to knock the sensation loose as he screamed and sobbed. A pair of large, calloused hands suddenly gripped his shoulders and David gave a choked gasp and yanked himself away from his father, instinctively kicking his feet at the man as he tried to scramble away from his looming grasp. 

David let out a scream, a higher pitch this time as he was bodily dragged across the carpet, the sharp sting of rug burns lighting up on his elbows and his father's fingers digging into the muscles on his calves. He started blindly hitting and writhing as his wrists were grabbed, and he was forced into crossing his arms tightly across his chest. Panic lit up again as his arms were trapped, and David threw his head back while his father tried pulling him against his chest. 

There was a shouted swear from the man holding him as David's head smacked into his father's chin, and his grip loosened just enough for David to wiggle free. His hands were against the carpet-- David couldn't even tell what color it was anymore-- and he surged forward for another escape attempt, before his father's hand gripped the back of his head and forced it to the carpet, a sickening _crack!_ splitting the air and making the house guests gasp as blood suddenly stained the carpet from David's broken nose. 

His eyes were itchy with white hot tears and David sobbed loudly into the carpet as he fought to get out from under his father's hold, arms and legs shaking with adrenaline and shoes scuffing against the floor. Another, smaller pair of hands took hold of his wrists again as his mother firmly crossed David's arms across his back, his shoulders aching from the pressure. 

As David's panic gradually gave way to a hollow, grey helplessness, and he stopped bucking against his parent's hold, the roaring in his ears lessened and he became aware of a shouting match starting between his parents and one of the guests. 

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you two!?" A younger man was yelling incredulously, his voice rough with anger. 

"You don't understand," his mother's voice came from over his shoulder, "Davey has autism, and he can get really violent someti-" 

"No! No, what the _absolute_ **_fuck_**!?" There was quiet murmuring as some of the parents tried to cover their kid's ears. "That is not _fucking_ okay!" 

David's father spoke up, his voice barely restrained from a shout. "You don't know how hard it is, trying to keep your kid from freaking the fuck out and trying to claw your eyes out-" 

"Shut the _fuck_ **_up_**!" The man interrupted, his voice booming, making David cringe and try to wiggle his hands free only to choke on a sob as his mother dug her nails into his wrists. "Me, my father, _and_ my daughter are _all_ autistic, and that is absolutely _not_ how you handle a **_fucking_** meltdown!" 

His mom's voice piped up again. "W-well you're obviously more high-functioning than our son-" 

"No! Fucking _miss_ me with that bullshit! I'm not fucking putting up with it!" There was a nearly imperceptible pause. "I'm calling the fucking cops." 

"No, please-!" 

"Don't you fucking _dare_!" 

The man's phone rang quietly and David's stomach did a flip. He couldn't tell if he was excited or terrified, but his shoulders started shaking again regardless. 

His parent's hands lifted away from him as they focused their attention on the man, and David squirmed across the floor, barely noticing as he dragged his knees through the pool of blood soaked into the carpet while his mother and father tried to shout down their house guest. 

David paused as a small pair of Mary Jane's pattered into his field of vision, and he looked up at the little girl who had pulled on his arm earlier. For a moment he couldn't tell what was going on, until she held out a ridiculous amount of Kleenex tissues in her right fist, her other hand petting rhythmically through her kinky hair. 

"Sorry I grabbed you, lots of noise gets me really excited, and I stop thinking very good." She said softly, though making sure she could be heard over the fighting behind David. 

He slowly pulled himself into sitting on his knees, shakily accepting the ginormous bundle of tissues as more tears streaked down his cheeks. "My name is Kiki by the way. My daddy is calling the police for you, even though they make him kind of nervous." She paused, tipping her weight from one foot to the other as she ran the back of her hand across her other arm. "Is it okay if I help you? Since you don't have a mirror." 

David had to process her question for a few moments, before he gave an unsteady nod and Kiki took a small handful of the tissues now piled in David's lap and gently patted his cheeks dry. He stuffed a couple up his nose as he noticed more blood was dripping over his lips, and he wiped his chin clean. 

When as much of the blood could be cleared way, Kiki started gently counting David's freckles, her little fingers tapping against his cheeks as she whispered the numbers under her breath. David's eyes slipped closed as he echoed the numbers along with her, running his fingers over the edge of the Kleenex in his hand and listening passively as the sound of sirens grew closer, calm finally settling deep into his chest as the numbers grew bigger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a bit longer to publish than I said, my motivation tried to escape me :0 (the wee bastard)

The mess hall at Camp Campbell was at its usual, if hectic, volume, though David was thankful it wasn't too much noise for the space. If the room were any smaller, David was sure he'd be a lot more on edge.

Speaking of which, as David ran his fingers over the varnished wood of the table in front of him he noticed Max was hunched over himself across the room. He was gripping his fork between his thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger and rotating the utensil back and forth, his shoulders hiking up to his ears every time Nikki leaned in too close.

The fifth time she got into his space while narrating a dramatic story to Niel, Max slammed his hands on the table, quiet falling over the mess hall at the resounding  _ bang _ . "Fucking, goddamn it, Nikki!" He looked like he wanted to say more, but seeing all of the camper's eyes on him made his face go red and twist into an angry scowl.

Nikki and Niel both flinched as Max shot up from the table with his hands ruffling agitatedly through his dark curls, and bolted outside, slamming the door behind him. The room was quiet for a few more seconds before the kids started muttering to each other, and David carefully stood from his seat next to Gwen.

"Could you watch the campers please, Gwen?" He asked softly, rounding the table.

Gwen raised her eyebrows skeptically at her coworker. "You sure you wanna deal with  _ that _ ?" 

"I think this is something I could actually help with this time." David gave her a gentle smile before following after Max.

He found the young camper out by the tents, pacing back and forth and gnawing angrily on his hand. David cautiously approached Max, noticing the way his shoulders bunched up as he got closer.

"Hey, buddy." David greeted, wincing inwardly at the unintentional 'I'm-a-condescending-neurotypical' voice. The counselor cleared his throat. "How about you settle down in the counselor's cabin, okay? It's dark and quiet there."

From an outsider's perspective, it looked like Max was ignoring the man, but Max was slowly trying to arrange all of the words in his head so he could understand the instructions. They were already pretty straightforward, but he felt like a whole bunch of pissed off rabbits were racing through his bloodstream, and he could barely focus.

David, waited for a moment, letting Max have some time to process, before he turned towards his cabin. "Come on, Max, I've got a fan in there to help cool down too, it's pretty hot today."

Max scoffed, hot was an understatement-- his skin was itchy and sticky, and he just wanted to crawl out of his sad fucking meatsuit and throw himself in the lake. Regardless, Max begrudgingly followed behind David, repeatedly pressing his incisors against the sides of his thumb.

Once inside, David started rooting around in a backpack next to the desk, while Max hopped up to sit on David's bed. Max stared at the wall for a moment before a large, wrapped piece of bubblegum was held in front of his face-- not too close though. 

Max squinted for a moment, before taking it with his unoccupied hand and peeling away the wrapper before replacing his chewed finger with it.  _ Oh man, it's that super sugary bullshit bubblegum. Fuck yeah. _ Wiping off his hand, Max watched as David dumped a handful of colorful plastic objects on the blankets next to him. He recognized a zipper bracelet and what looked like a mini mermaid pillow, but the rest he hadn't seen before.

"Go ahead and take your pick!" David said happily, spreading out the small pile. He was careful to keep his voice at a reasonable volume. "I've been collecting a lot of stim toys over the years, so I've got quite a variety.

"This," he pointed at a twisty loop of plastic, "is a Tangle, and this," he pointed to a rectangle that looked like almost like chain links, "is a snap-click fidget…" David took a moment to give names to everything, Max leaned over to look at them, jaw working at the bubblegum in his mouth.

When the counselor was done and had sat down on the other side of the pile of stim toys, Max grabbed the flip-sequin plush from the edge of the pile, running his hand over the pleasantly scratchy surface, watching as the color went from red to gold and back again.

When some of the tension was ebbed away from Max's shoulders he turned his gaze to David, who was peacefully running his fingers over a pine green hedge ball. "How come you have all this stuff? I doubt Campbell offered any training for putting up with autistic kids."

David grimaced for a moment. "I'm not 'putting up' with you, Max. But you're right, Campbell didn't really, well, think about any of that stuff, I guess." He gave a kind of sad chuckle. "It probably never even crossed his mind."

Max was watching him with wide eyes. Moments where David wasn't gleefully bouncing off the walls were few and far between, but they usually meant Max had to struggle with softer emotions for a couple hours afterwards.  _ Ah, fuck. _

"Which is pretty ironic, considering I've been at Camp Campbell since I was 9." David snickered, hunching over a little and kicking his feet. "I know how hard it can be, Max, when no one really understands." 

David looked over at his camper, not quite making eye contact, but close enough to try and convey his meaning. "But I hope you know I understand, and if you ever feel like you might have a meltdown, or a shutdown, or you just need some time to cool off, all you have to do is let me know where you're going and I'll let you stay in here as long as you need. Okay?"

"...Okay." Max stared for a moment longer, before focusing all his attention on the sequin plush. He ran it back and forth across his chin as he tried to ignore the warmth settling in his chest, making him feel… cared for.

Smiling broadly, David stood from the bed. "Well, this was supposed to be a surprise for you campers later, but I'm going to be baking cookies for you guys to eat later! So I'll have to get going for a little while. I'll check back with you later in a bit."

Taking a moment to settle on one of David's pillows, Max nestled the plush against his chest. "Hey, David?"

David paused with his hand on the door handle. "Yes?"

"...Thank you… for giving a shit."

Tears started gathering in David's eyes and he gave Max a watery smile. "Of course, Max."

As David was finally leaving, Max pointed an accusatory finger at the counselor. "That fucking stays between us, Camp-man!" David giggled under his breath as he closed the door. "I'm not  _ fucking kidding! _ "

When David's footsteps had faded Max wriggled in place like a cat, trying to get comfy as he burrowed under the blankets, careful not to knock the pile of stim toys on the floor. Scowling, Max planted his face in David's pillow and tried to stop imagining the man giving him a familial embrace. 

_ God fucking damn it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max totally swallowed his gum in his sleep, lol.
> 
> That's all for now! I might make a series of short stories with these two, we'll see. ^^ I hope you enjoyed!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Max will come in during chapter 2, and don't worry it's a lot softer :0


End file.
